College Tip Tuesday: Why You Should Consider Going Through Rush

I get asked a lot about how I like being a sorority and is it really worth it and honestly, every time my answer is yes, 100% yes! On the other hand, if you had asked me if I would be in a sorority in high school my answer would be heck no! So, what made me change my mind? I’m going to be going through what made me switch below. If you’re on the fence about a sorority, I suggest you keep reading and let me know in the comments below if I have persuaded you to go through recruitment

History

Okay so I thought I would start out by explaining why I didn’t want to be in a sorority at first and what recruitment really is for those of you who don’t know. I have always been someone who does well with like 2 or 3 close girlfriends and a ton of close guy friends. I never really got along with girls because I am not a fan of all the drama that comes with hanging out with girls. All I knew about sororities really, was what people told me or what I saw in the movies which was girls prancing around in tiny outfits sleeping with so many boys and partying all night and day. When I thought of myself, I didn’t feel like I would fit in with that kind of scene. After visiting Lubbock in the fall of my senior year of high school my friend who was at Tech already convinced me to just go through recruitment because she didn’t think she would like it and she loved being in a sorority (fun fact, she ended up being my big which I think is way cool!! God is good!!). So I decided to give it a shot and go through recruitment. For those of y’all who don’t know what RUSH or recruitment is, it is when you visit all of the sorority houses that your university/college offers and you go for a week to the houses until you and the sororities have narrowed down which house will fit you best. Sounds intimidating? It is, buuuut I found it to be one of the best experiences ever and I loved it. At the end of the week I found my home away from home at Kappa Delta and I am forever grateful of all the sisters who have become my life long friends already!

Still on the fence about it? Maybe if I answer some questions I can convince you to RUSH! 😉

Buying your friends

Yep, if you’re like me, you’ve heard this so many times that sororities are just a way to buy friends. NOT TRUE. Being in a sorority is like being in a club at school except it’s a whole group of girls who are very similar to you. This is because each house is so unique so, the girls you end up with are similar to you because you both chose the house that had the same values as you. For instance, I am a girl so loves diversity and is athletic and girly and that’s what I found in Kappa Delta. I danced some of my sorority sisters in an event for homecoming, I played intermural volleyball with another one of my sisters, and every event I attend with my sorority, I am reminded on how diverse my sorority. Yes, you have to pay fees to a sorority but trust me, the reward of the women you will meet that will impact your life, is more than money can buy.

You have to be a partier to be in a sorority

Okay, so what you see on tv of sorority girls going crazy at parties is not true. Yes, you can go to parties if you want but eeeeeveryone goes to parties in college, its college! Sorority girls are not the only ones that party. When my big and I hang out, we go get ice cream or I go to her apartment and we just sit and talk, or we study together. We have never hung out at a party. Also, there are so many events that sororities do that do not involve partying at all. Sororities are built around serving their communities and philanthropies so, if you have a giving heart then a sorority might be just what you need!

I’m nervous about going through rush

The week of recruitment, I was TERRIFIED. No one in my family had ever rushed and I had no idea what to expect. I decided to go in with a positive attitude and to just be myself and have fun and not put too much pressure on myself and it turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life! I have never met so many nice girls who loved serving others and were so passionate about something before that it made me eager to join in on the fun! My advice would be to never stop yourself from doing something you really want to do just because it scares you. Yes, it is a long week but, it is only a week and you can do it!

It is so time consuming

I wouldn’t say that this is false but I will say it’s not hard to tackle being in a sorority and being in college. If you are not going to join a sorority in college you’re probably still going to join a club or group anyways because that’s how you make friends in college! What I did was that I took 13hrs in the fall which allowed me to figure out how to balance college and a sorority and then I took 16 hours in the spring and it worked out perfect for me! Depending on how involved you want to get in your sorority ( I am moderately involved) is how time consuming it will be. If you know you can’t juggle a lot at once, then take it slow. Sit back the first semester and analyze how involved you want to get. If you know you can do a lot, then tryout for some things in your sorority and take on some tasks!

In the end, a sorority is something that what you put into it, is what you get out of it. You have the control to make it into something that you love or something that you hate. The trick is to find the perfect house for you and once you do that, it will be so worth it!